Normalization of Deviation and High-Reliability Organizations
Listen to Mark & Benna Discuss the Normalization of Deviation and High Reliability
I didn’t get the point of the story in the video above. It was about the Normalization of Deviation and Rickover.
I had an interview with Rickover and the last question series he asked was:
Rickover: Midshipman Paradies, are you married?
Me: No sir.
Rickover: Are you engaged?
Me: Yes sir.
Rickover: Has your fiance ever told you you were good looking?
Me: (initially baffled by the question from an old man in his mid-70s – thought it was sort of creepy.) Yes, sir.
Rickover: Tell me, what did she mean?
Me: (I was totally thrown off by this line of questioning.) Well, I guess she like the way I looked.
Rickover: Midshipman Paradies, you’re wrong.
Me: Yes, sir. (My best answer of the day.)
Rickover: What she meant was that she wanted to marry you. When you get back, will you ask her what she meant, write me a letter, and tell me what she says?
Me: Yes, sir.
Rickover: Get out of my office.
That’s (in addition to the test and the other interviews) how I got selected for the Nuclear Navy.
But there was still an important step left. I went home, asked my fiance what she meant, and wrote a letter to Rickover telling him what she said.
Why is this important? Rickover’s staff kept track of every commitment that Midshipmen made during their interviews. When I returned for my Engineer’s Exam almost 4 years later, they asked me if I had any outstanding correspondence with the Admiral. I said “No.”
They then looked me up and said, that correct, you wrote your letter to the Admiral.
Why is this important? During his interview, the guy I mentioned in the video (who had been a rule breaker) was questioned about his grades at the Naval Academy. Rickover asked him if he could have done better. He said if he had studied more, he probably could have. Rickover then told him to keep track of his hours in classes, the hours he studied (by topic), and the grades he received, and every week write him a letter with the results. The guy in the story said he would.
When he returned to the Naval Academy, he wrote several letters but stopped before the semester ended. When asked about his outstanding correspondence with the Admiral, he said he didn’t have any. They looked him up and said, according to their records, he still owed Admiral Rickover 20 letters with his study hours and grades. Rickover wanted to know if he would rather write those letters now or explain to the Admiral why responding to an Admiral with the letters was unimportant.
The guy in the story chose the latter – explaining why it was unimportant to complete the correspondence. Before he was done talking to Riickover, he was “de-nuked” and kicked out of the program.
Why was there such an extreme result? Rickover had zero tolerance for Normalization of Deviation. And the guy in the story by his actions (the unwritten letters) and, worse yet, by his choice to tell Rickover why it wasn’t important to correspond with Rickover and their discussion (that didn’t go well) that the guy was likely to deviate from the rules.
Want to learn more about Rickover and how he prevented Normalization of Deviation in the Nuclear Navy? Then start by reading this set of articles:
Stopping the Normalization of Deviation with the Normalization of Excellence
Learn More About Stopping the Normalization of Deviation and Becoming a High-Reliability Organization
Although the articles are a good first exposure to Rickover’s philosophies, there is considerably more to learn. Where can you learn more? At the 2025 Global TapRooT® Summit and the pre-Summit course, Stopping Human Error, both are being held in Knoxville, Tennessee, from September 29 through October 3.
Stopping Human Error Course
The Stopping Human Error Course explains many best practices for helping your company achieve outstanding human performance, which is part of becoming a high-reliability organization.
See the course outline HERE.
The course sections on Conservative Decision-Making, Stopping the Normalization of Deviation, 3-Way Communications, Attention to Detail, and Questioning Attitude are all part of Rickover’s high-reliability organization philosophy.
If you want to achieve high performance at your company, I know you will enjoy this course and take many ideas back to work.
Register for the Stopping Human Error Course HERE.
2025 Global TapRooT® Summit
This is the first summit in 30 years with a track specifically targeted at those interested in high reliability. It is titled the:
High-Reliability Organization
Best Practices Track
The track includes these breakout sessions…
Three of these sessions will be particularly valuable for those interested in how Admiral Rickover achieved high reliability in the Nuclear Navy. They are:
- Admiral Rickover’s Original High-Reliability Organization
- Peer Reviews & Inspections for High-Compliance Panel Discussion
- Sharing Ideas to Achieve High Reliability & Performance Roundtable
All nine sessions in the track will help your company achieve high reliability.
The Summit also includes seven other best practice tracks. When you register, you can choose sessions from any track to customize your Summit learning experience.
The Summit also includes five Keynote Speakers who will provide interesting ideas and motivation to help you improve your performance when you return to work.
When you attend the Summit and one of the 11 pre-Summit Courses (for example, the Stopping Human Error Course), you will SAVE $300 OFF the combined course/Summit registration fee.
If you are considering attending the Summit, be assured that your time will be well spent. The Summit comes with this guarantee…
Summit Guarantee
Attend the Global TapRooT® Summit. Go back to work and implement your roadmap to success. If you don’t save 10 times the cost of the Summit fee, let us know and return your Summit materials and we will refund 100% of the Summit registration fee. This guarantee shows how certain we are that you will learn valuable best practices to take your team’s performance—and that of your whole organization—to the next level.
For more Summit information, CLICK HERE.
To download the Summit Brochure, CLICK HERE.
To see the complete Summit schedule, CLICK HERE.
To REGISTER for the Summit and an optional pre-Summit Course, CLICK HERE.
Don’t wait. Space in the Stopping Human Error Course is limited. Plus, you need to make your travel plans to attend. Register NOW!
